So a buddy and I went to the range today to try and shoot my Russian sks, after I loaded the mag with S&B 7.62x39mm, I took aim and pulled the trigger to hear the worst noise ever.....nothing but my hammer hitting home. The round was fully chambered, and I tried several more times, all with the same result. When I got home I disassembled it, and by holding the bolt (minus carrier) in position where it would sit with a round chambered and pulled the trigger to realize that my firing pin appears to be too short.... I checked and it does move around in the bolt freely, I haven't disassembled the bolt yet, on account of the retaining pin being very difficult to remove ( a Google search suggested a mineral oils bath for my bolt to loosen it). When that happens I'll make sure there isn't anything blocking it, but I'm wondering if anyone has heard of a firing pin that's too short? also for when I do get it out does anyone have the length the firing pin is supposed to be?
Went to shoot sks today...was very disappointed
- Thread starter scotchnsoda
- Start date
yes, one of my SKS's had a firing pin which was noticably shorter when compared to others. If you don't have another bolt to compare to, then make sure the assembly is clean first.
As a last resort, you can do what I did: press out the retaining pin(its in there good, I had to use a vise), and extend the portion which sticks out by lowering the angle of the taper. I used a bench grinder to "sharpen" down the taper, resulting in more of the tip sticking out to strike the primer.
Let me know if you need an illustration. Hope this helps.
K
As a last resort, you can do what I did: press out the retaining pin(its in there good, I had to use a vise), and extend the portion which sticks out by lowering the angle of the taper. I used a bench grinder to "sharpen" down the taper, resulting in more of the tip sticking out to strike the primer.
Let me know if you need an illustration. Hope this helps.
K
ghostntheshell
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- GTA ONTARIO
When u said u pulled the trigger to hear the worst sound ever - I immidiately thought u were going to say u heard celine dione signing - which leads to the obvious question of what was she doing inside your sks anyway?
could be a few things from the firing pin channel obstructed by dried cosmo, crud or a piece of a pierced primer to a bent firing pin.
if you have some brake cleaner try that first although the sure way to find out is to take it apart. russians come apart rather easy unlike the yugo's. a drift/punch med size hammer and a solid base is all you should need. I made this little helper pictured below.
if you have some brake cleaner try that first although the sure way to find out is to take it apart. russians come apart rather easy unlike the yugo's. a drift/punch med size hammer and a solid base is all you should need. I made this little helper pictured below.
peter2772000
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada
300Spartans
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Canada of course
He he....yes, that is a good one, and he would be right too! 
Back to the problem.... some of the commercial ammo like S&B have softer primers, so if your firing pin is a bit shorter or warn, it may not fire. I'm pretty sure the milsurp ammo with hard primers will go off without a problem. So try some other ammo, and if you're convinced that the pin is clean and operating properly, yet still have misfires, then order a new pin. Lots of places have SKS parts in stock.
A softer primer is harder to ignite than a harder one?
When the firing pin is pressed foreward all the way does the tip protrude from the boltface?
If it doesn't find out why not. Unless the pin is broken, it is pretty unlikely that it is short.
When the firing pin is pressed foreward all the way does the tip protrude from the boltface?
If it doesn't find out why not. Unless the pin is broken, it is pretty unlikely that it is short.
twistedbrilliance
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Way too funny. and so true.
Softer primers sometimes need a little more meat from the firing pin to make them ignite. One of my hunting buddies has an SKS that has misfires with commercial ammo ( soft primers) yet it doesn't miss a beat with the military rounds. For him its not a problem because he doesn't hunt with it, but he may get around to changing the firing pin one day. It simply is warn down as with many firing pins on surplus rifles. I have several rifles where the pin shows signs of wear, but they are not yet a problem for me.
- Location
- south stukely
quinnjoblow
CGN Regular
- Location
- East of Toronto
